Epson Photo Stylus 1200.

Having had my Epson 810 printer problem solved (thanks to all and especially
Art) can anyone help with my Epson Stylus Photo 1200 problem, please? There
were no peas in this one!



It's about the quality (or lack of it!!!) when it prints. I can't get the
colours to be anything like what was scanned in and what is on the screen.
The image prints far too dark but if I lighten the original then the colours
come out nothing like the picture I either scanned in or pulled down from
the Internet. For instance, the greens are still green but not as bright or
as sharp but are very flat (the other colours are affected in the same way)
and the picture looks dead.



It's difficult to describe but I am always disappointed with the result.
Originally, when I bought the printer, it was fine - it has deteriorated
over the years and I don't know why.



I have two questions, which I think might be relevant. The first is that the
colour management (in 'Print' and then 'Properties') is set to 'Automatic'
and the 'colour profile' is given as EE053_ 1 - there's no other choice. I
assume that this profile is okay and that there aren't any other profiles I
could, or should, be using - or are there?



The second is that, under 'Image Color Management' I have three choices -:



ICM method - ICM handled by Host System

ICM Handled by printer

ICM Disabled



The first two don't seem to make any difference while the third is pretty
dreadful.



Can anyone suggest which one of the three would be best to select, please?
At the moment, I've selected 'Host System' but as I say, neither of the
first two seem any different.




I'm sorry about the length of this posting but I wanted to give as much
detail as I could and I hope this is enough.



This is the last printer I have, honest, so won't be asking about any other!



Regards,



John

"John Vanini" wrote in message
...
Having had my Epson 810 printer problem solved (thanks to all and
especially Art) can anyone help with my Epson Stylus Photo 1200 problem,
please? There were no peas in this one!



It's about the quality (or lack of it!!!) when it prints. I can't get the
colours to be anything like what was scanned in and what is on the screen.
The image prints far too dark but if I lighten the original then the
colours come out nothing like the picture I either scanned in or pulled
down from the Internet. For instance, the greens are still green but not
as bright or as sharp but are very flat (the other colours are affected in
the same way) and the picture looks dead.



It's difficult to describe but I am always disappointed with the result.
Originally, when I bought the printer, it was fine - it has deteriorated
over the years and I don't know why.



I have two questions, which I think might be relevant. The first is that
the colour management (in 'Print' and then 'Properties') is set to
'Automatic' and the 'colour profile' is given as EE053_ 1 - there's no
other choice. I assume that this profile is okay and that there aren't any
other profiles I could, or should, be using - or are there?



The second is that, under 'Image Color Management' I have three choices -:



ICM method - ICM handled by Host System

ICM Handled by printer

ICM Disabled



The first two don't seem to make any difference while the third is pretty
dreadful.



Can anyone suggest which one of the three would be best to select, please?
At the moment, I've selected 'Host System' but as I say, neither of the
first two seem any different.




I'm sorry about the length of this posting but I wanted to give as much
detail as I could and I hope this is enough.



This is the last printer I have, honest, so won't be asking about any
other!



Regards,



John



Hi.

The Epson 1200 is a fairly old printer.

When the driver was installed it only installed one ICC Profile, whereas
most of the newer printers will install around 6 Profiles, each of which is
specific to one kind of Epson Paper.

The Profile on your machine is designed for the old Epson Photo Paper,
194gm/sq M. The Paper packaging will specify that it is for use with Epson
Photo 700 & EX, which are the A4 version of the 1200 and the 1200 EX

It should give very reasonable results with that paper, provided you are
using Epson Inks. That paper is not highly glossy and the colours will be
slightly duller than the more modern printers, (1280 onwards), with the
newer papers, (like Epson Premium Glossy).

If you should want to use non Epson Inks and/or any other Paper, you would
need to get someone to write a Profile for your combination. But that will
only be worthwhile if you are using a Colour Management aware Program, like
Photoshop, and know how to set it up.

I do not know of any other ICC Profiles available for this machine,
anywhere.

In the meantime switch to "ICM handled by Printer" and use that old Paper.
It is still available, but not every outlet carries it.

I have recently been helping a friend who actually has 2 of these Printers
and a plentiful supply of the paper.

Hope this helps.

Roy G

On Apr 3, 6:55 pm, "John Vanini" wrote:
Having had my Epson 810 printer problem solved (thanks to all and especially
Art) can anyone help with my Epson Stylus Photo 1200 problem, please? There
were no peas in this one!

It's about the quality (or lack of it!!!) when it prints. I can't get the
colours to be anything like what was scanned in and what is on the screen.
The image prints far too dark but if I lighten the original then the colours
come out nothing like the picture I either scanned in or pulled down from
the Internet. For instance, the greens are still green but not as bright or
as sharp but are very flat (the other colours are affected in the same way)
and the picture looks dead.

It's difficult to describe but I am always disappointed with the result.
Originally, when I bought the printer, it was fine - it has deteriorated
over the years and I don't know why.

I have two questions, which I think might be relevant. The first is that the
colour management (in 'Print' and then 'Properties') is set to 'Automatic'
and the 'colour profile' is given as EE053_ 1 - there's no other choice. I
assume that this profile is okay and that there aren't any other profiles I
could, or should, be using - or are there?

The second is that, under 'Image Color Management' I have three choices -:

ICM method - ICM handled by Host System

ICM Handled by printer

ICM Disabled

The first two don't seem to make any difference while the third is pretty
dreadful.

Can anyone suggest which one of the three would be best to select, please?
At the moment, I've selected 'Host System' but as I say, neither of the
first two seem any different.

I'm sorry about the length of this posting but I wanted to give as much
detail as I could and I hope this is enough.

This is the last printer I have, honest, so won't be asking about any other!

Regards,

John


It is an 8+ year old printer, I have had 2, both broke down, carriage
problems, had each repaired twice. Could be a couple of things, 1 is
your print head has worn out, if this has gotten progressivly worse
over time I'd look there. The othe problem is the print head carriage
mechanism is worn out which would mean bad alignment of ink. Have you
done any diagnostics, dye printers of that era would clog, so a print
head check would be good, could be as simple as a clogged head. If the
ink is smearing then the head is worn out.
If you aren't printing from a program that is color management aware,
then the profile in the printer properties matters. But generally the
printer driver should allow you to set a profile. Better still is to
print from a color management aware progam like Photoshop Elements,
Photoshop, Paintshop Pro.
Do yourself a favor and get an Epson 1400, it will have profiles for
the more recent Epson papers. You have gotten a good life out of the
1200 BTW I bought my first one in 2000.

Tom

I haven't checked, but it is possible Epson has issued/developed new
drivers with more profiles, and this is always worth checking. Check
the Epson website for updates.

Which OS are you using? The newest driver for XP is January 2005 at
least on the UK website, which is fairly new.

There are two profile files on the US website, but they do not mention
XP and are from year 2000.


[-] Inkjet Paper PANTONE Profiles v2.01
Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0
SP12201I.EXE - 869.5KB - posted on 01/03/00


This self-extracting file contains the Epson Stylus Photo 1200
PANTONE Color Calibrated profiles for Photo Quality Inkjet Paper. Please
view the included "HowToWin.pdf" document for additional information.
Download Now


[-] Glossy Paper PANTONE Profiles v2.01
Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0
SP12201G.EXE - 875KB - posted on 01/03/00


This self-extracting file contains the Epson Stylus Photo 1200
Pantone Color Calibrated profiles for Photo Quality Glossy Paper. Please
view the included "HowToWin.pdf" document for additional information.
Download Now


Art



Roy G wrote:
"John Vanini" wrote in message
...
Having had my Epson 810 printer problem solved (thanks to all and
especially Art) can anyone help with my Epson Stylus Photo 1200 problem,
please? There were no peas in this one!



It's about the quality (or lack of it!!!) when it prints. I can't get the
colours to be anything like what was scanned in and what is on the screen.
The image prints far too dark but if I lighten the original then the
colours come out nothing like the picture I either scanned in or pulled
down from the Internet. For instance, the greens are still green but not
as bright or as sharp but are very flat (the other colours are affected in
the same way) and the picture looks dead.



It's difficult to describe but I am always disappointed with the result.
Originally, when I bought the printer, it was fine - it has deteriorated
over the years and I don't know why.



I have two questions, which I think might be relevant. The first is that
the colour management (in 'Print' and then 'Properties') is set to
'Automatic' and the 'colour profile' is given as EE053_ 1 - there's no
other choice. I assume that this profile is okay and that there aren't any
other profiles I could, or should, be using - or are there?



The second is that, under 'Image Color Management' I have three choices -:



ICM method - ICM handled by Host System

ICM Handled by printer

ICM Disabled



The first two don't seem to make any difference while the third is pretty
dreadful.



Can anyone suggest which one of the three would be best to select, please?
At the moment, I've selected 'Host System' but as I say, neither of the
first two seem any different.




I'm sorry about the length of this posting but I wanted to give as much
detail as I could and I hope this is enough.



This is the last printer I have, honest, so won't be asking about any
other!



Regards,



John



Hi.

The Epson 1200 is a fairly old printer.

When the driver was installed it only installed one ICC Profile, whereas
most of the newer printers will install around 6 Profiles, each of which is
specific to one kind of Epson Paper.

The Profile on your machine is designed for the old Epson Photo Paper,
194gm/sq M. The Paper packaging will specify that it is for use with Epson
Photo 700 & EX, which are the A4 version of the 1200 and the 1200 EX

It should give very reasonable results with that paper, provided you are
using Epson Inks. That paper is not highly glossy and the colours will be
slightly duller than the more modern printers, (1280 onwards), with the
newer papers, (like Epson Premium Glossy).

If you should want to use non Epson Inks and/or any other Paper, you would
need to get someone to write a Profile for your combination. But that will
only be worthwhile if you are using a Colour Management aware Program, like
Photoshop, and know how to set it up.

I do not know of any other ICC Profiles available for this machine,
anywhere.

In the meantime switch to "ICM handled by Printer" and use that old Paper.
It is still available, but not every outlet carries it.

I have recently been helping a friend who actually has 2 of these Printers
and a plentiful supply of the paper.

Hope this helps.

Roy G

Make sure all 6 of the colors are working via a nozzle test. Often if
one of the Cyan heads (light or dark) and or one of the magenta heads
(light or dark) are clogged people don't notice it but the color will be
way off.

Art

John Vanini wrote:
Having had my Epson 810 printer problem solved (thanks to all and especially
Art) can anyone help with my Epson Stylus Photo 1200 problem, please? There
were no peas in this one!



It's about the quality (or lack of it!!!) when it prints. I can't get the
colours to be anything like what was scanned in and what is on the screen.
The image prints far too dark but if I lighten the original then the colours
come out nothing like the picture I either scanned in or pulled down from
the Internet. For instance, the greens are still green but not as bright or
as sharp but are very flat (the other colours are affected in the same way)
and the picture looks dead.



It's difficult to describe but I am always disappointed with the result.
Originally, when I bought the printer, it was fine - it has deteriorated
over the years and I don't know why.



I have two questions, which I think might be relevant. The first is that the
colour management (in 'Print' and then 'Properties') is set to 'Automatic'
and the 'colour profile' is given as EE053_ 1 - there's no other choice. I
assume that this profile is okay and that there aren't any other profiles I
could, or should, be using - or are there?



The second is that, under 'Image Color Management' I have three choices -:



ICM method - ICM handled by Host System

ICM Handled by printer

ICM Disabled



The first two don't seem to make any difference while the third is pretty
dreadful.



Can anyone suggest which one of the three would be best to select, please?
At the moment, I've selected 'Host System' but as I say, neither of the
first two seem any different.




I'm sorry about the length of this posting but I wanted to give as much
detail as I could and I hope this is enough.



This is the last printer I have, honest, so won't be asking about any other!



Regards,



John

Thanks to all for your replies, I will have to re-read them and think about
what has been said but I'll give a few answers to some of the questions,
now.



1) The operating system is Windows XP and I don't think the Epson 1200 was
really designed for that. For some time they (Epson) hadn't got a Status
Monitor for the XP system.



2) I have searched the Internet for new drivers but am always told I have
the latest (in other words, probably, the only one)



3) I have to do a nozzle test very often as one colour or another gets
clogged - and this is happening more often. Even after printing a
satisfactory nozzle check pattern, the image will still be bad.



4) I do alignment checks but have not seen any problems.



5) I use non-Epson inks because of the great difference in price and
generally the colour-matching isn't important as the images are only to
illustrate the text - it's mainly photographs and such where it is important



6) I use Paintshop Pro V9.



7) The paper I use is A3 or A4 plain copier paper and Avery white inkjet
labels. I suppose these could be the problem or perhaps part of the problem?
However, I do need to use plain paper for the text - the images are to
illustrate the text.



I will re-read all your emails, in greater detail, tomorrow but in the
meantime I thank you all for your help and time.



Regards,



John

I can provide you with a document on cleaning Epson printers and
specifically which can help with head clogs. It is available free of
charge. NO spam (from me) and your name is not traded or sold. Nothing
to sell you either.

Art

My email (just mention the model number of your printer)

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .




John Vanini wrote:
Thanks to all for your replies, I will have to re-read them and think about
what has been said but I'll give a few answers to some of the questions,
now.



1) The operating system is Windows XP and I don't think the Epson 1200 was
really designed for that. For some time they (Epson) hadn't got a Status
Monitor for the XP system.



2) I have searched the Internet for new drivers but am always told I have
the latest (in other words, probably, the only one)



3) I have to do a nozzle test very often as one colour or another gets
clogged - and this is happening more often. Even after printing a
satisfactory nozzle check pattern, the image will still be bad.



4) I do alignment checks but have not seen any problems.



5) I use non-Epson inks because of the great difference in price and
generally the colour-matching isn't important as the images are only to
illustrate the text - it's mainly photographs and such where it is important



6) I use Paintshop Pro V9.



7) The paper I use is A3 or A4 plain copier paper and Avery white inkjet
labels. I suppose these could be the problem or perhaps part of the problem?
However, I do need to use plain paper for the text - the images are to
illustrate the text.



I will re-read all your emails, in greater detail, tomorrow but in the
meantime I thank you all for your help and time.



Regards,



John

Arthur Entlich wrote:
I can provide you with a document on cleaning Epson printers and
specifically which can help with head clogs. It is available free of
charge. NO spam (from me) and your name is not traded or sold.
Nothing to sell you either.
If that is the case then one has to ask why this so called manual is not
posted online as some kind of a pdf document.

Art

My email (just mention the model number of your printer)

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .




John Vanini wrote:
Thanks to all for your replies, I will have to re-read them and think
about what has been said but I'll give a few answers to some of the
questions, now.



1) The operating system is Windows XP and I don't think the Epson
1200 was really designed for that. For some time they (Epson) hadn't
got a Status Monitor for the XP system.



2) I have searched the Internet for new drivers but am always told I
have the latest (in other words, probably, the only one)



3) I have to do a nozzle test very often as one colour or another
gets clogged - and this is happening more often. Even after printing
a satisfactory nozzle check pattern, the image will still be bad.



4) I do alignment checks but have not seen any problems.



5) I use non-Epson inks because of the great difference in price and
generally the colour-matching isn't important as the images are only
to illustrate the text - it's mainly photographs and such where it is
important



6) I use Paintshop Pro V9.



7) The paper I use is A3 or A4 plain copier paper and Avery white
inkjet labels. I suppose these could be the problem or perhaps part
of the problem? However, I do need to use plain paper for the text -
the images are to illustrate the text.



I will re-read all your emails, in greater detail, tomorrow but in
the meantime I thank you all for your help and time.



Regards,



John

Just got your message, Art

Thanks, I'll certainlty do that!

Regards

John


"Arthur Entlich" wrote in message
news:FLJJj.27761$Cj7.7703@pd7urf2no...
I can provide you with a document on cleaning Epson printers and
specifically which can help with head clogs. It is available free of
charge. NO spam (from me) and your name is not traded or sold. Nothing to
sell you either.

Art

My email (just mention the model number of your printer)

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Frank wrote:
measekite, an idiot wrote:


If that is the case then one has to ask why this so called manual is
not posted online as some kind of a pdf document.

I have a better question...why are you so stupid?...or are you too

stupid to even answer that question?
Frank

Hey Frank

I am suprised that he didn't pick up point 5.

"5) I use non-Epson inks because of the great difference in price and
generally the colour-matching isn't important as the images are only to
illustrate the text - it's mainly photographs and such where it is
important"